KumÄrasambhava
KumÄrasambhavam (Sanskrit: कà¥à¤®à¤¾à¤°à¤¸à¤®à¥à¤à¤µà¤®à¥ , IAST: KumÄra-sambhavam) is a Sanskrit epic poem by KÄlidÄsa. The KumÄrasambhava is widely regarded as one of KÄlidÄsa's finest works, a paradigmatic example of KÄvya poetry. The style of description of spring set the standard for nature metaphors pervading many centuries of Indian literary tradition.[1] Kumarasambhava basically talks about the birth of Kumara (KÄrtikeya / Murugan), the son of Shiva and Parvati.[2] The period of composition is uncertain, although KÄlidÄsa is thought to have lived in the 5th century AD.
Contents
KumÄrasambhava literally means "Birth of KumÄra". This epic of seventeen cantos entails Shringara Rasa, the rasa of love, romance, and eroticism, more than Vira rasa (the rasa of heroism). Tarakasur, a rakshasha (or demon) was blessed that he could be killed by none other than Lord Shiva's son, however, Shiva had won over Kama-deva (the god of love). Parvati performed great tapasya (or spiritual penance) to win the love of Lord Shiva. Consequently, Shiva and Parvati's son Murugan was born to restore the glory of Indra, the king of Gods.
According to Indian tradition, KÄlidÄsa had left his home in pursuit of knowledge and to become worthy of his intellectual wife VidyottamÄ (lit. "epitome of erudition"). When he returned from this conquest, his wife asked, "asti kaÅ›cit vÄgviÅ›eá¹£aḥ? (असà¥à¤¤à¤¿ कशà¥à¤šà¤¿à¤¤à¥ वागà¥à¤µà¤¿à¤¶à¥‡à¤·à¤ƒ)" — "Is there any erudition [which should prompt me to extend a special welcome to you]?" KÄlidÄsa impressed his wife with the answer she expected and over the next few years created three great epics, each beginning with one of the three words uttered by his wife: 'asti' — KumÄrasambhava, 'kaÅ›cit' — MeghadÅ«ta, and 'vÄk' — Raghuvaṃśa.
References
Bibliography
- Hank Heifetz (1 January 1990). The Origin of the Young God: KÄlidÄsa's KumÄrasaṃbhava. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0754-9.
External links
Sanskrit Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- full text of the KumÄrasambhava in DevanÄgarÄ« script (first eight sargas)
- full text of the KumÄrasambhava in Roman script at GRETIL
- The Birth of the War-God, selected translation by Arthur W. Ryder
- single folio of a KumÄrasambhava manuscript in the Cambridge University Library
- Attempted English translation of text by RTH Griffith
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